quixotic
/kwɪkˈsɒtɪk/
"quixotic" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“quixotic” is uncommon English (frequency #64,645 among 2,880 “Q” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #64,645
- frequency rank, English
- 2,880
- “Q” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Resembling or characteristic of the Spanish chivalric hero Don Quixote; possessed with or resulting from the desire to do noble and romantic deeds, without thought of realism and practicality.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | quixotic |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /kwɪkˈsɒtɪk/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #64,645 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “quixotic” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
quixotic is uncommon English at frequency #64,645 among 2,880 “Q” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /kwɪkˈsɒtɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for quixotic, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Derived from Spanish Quixote, the surname of Don Quixote, the title character in the novel by Miguel de Cervantes, + -ic. The correct English form is quixotic, spelled Q-U-I-X-O-T-I-C.
Definition
- 1Resembling or characteristic of the Spanish chivalric hero Don Quixote; possessed with or resulting from the desire to do noble and romantic deeds, without thought of realism and practicality.
- 2Overly optimistic and moralistic.
- 3Exceedingly idealistic.
Etymology
Derived from Spanish Quixote, the surname of Don Quixote, the title character in the novel by Miguel de Cervantes, + -ic.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “quixotic”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is Q-U-I-X-O-T-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kwɪkˈsɒtɪk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.